


Find Myself Feeling Alone

by DoubleL27



Series: A Hazy Shade of Stevie [3]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Birthday, F/F, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn, just two awkward girls, trying their best, twyla is the sweetest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-18 16:39:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21780544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoubleL27/pseuds/DoubleL27
Summary: Twyla brings Stevie a sweet treat for her birthday.orTwyla steps a little bit closer to Stevie.
Relationships: Stevie Budd/Twyla Sands
Series: A Hazy Shade of Stevie [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569649
Comments: 27
Kudos: 37
Collections: Schitt's Creek Open Fic Night 2.0





	Find Myself Feeling Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my lovely beta [Redacted] for keeping me from any truly awkward phrasing and grammatical errors and keeping me sane when my brain overthinks.
> 
> Continuing with the trend, this title is pulled from the Lumineers III, track 3, Gloria.

Stevie sighed a breath of relief as she collapsed into her chair behind the desk in the motel office. Thanks to Mr. Rose, motel was busy and successful and she shouldn’t complain, but damn she was tired. They were still riding the wave from the town’s holiday celebrations that Alexis had planned from the islands and with all the extra services Mr. Rose kept heaping on to try and get an additional star ( _Two are better than one, Stevie_ ) she was exhausted. Stevie was tempted to throw the lock on the door and pretend there was a very important meeting happening so none of the guests would come in and bother her.

Her meeting with her book was _very_ important. She needed to know what happened when the mermaid who was used to singing sailors to their death to keep them from destroying her corner of the ocean came up against a female captain and crew. Only good things, Stevie hoped 

Several chapters in and Stevie felt her shoulders loosen just a little. There was something about drifting away into someone else’s story that had always been comforting. 

The bell above the motel office door tinkled, bringing Stevie up short to look at the person who had entered. Twyla stood there, auburn hair cascading out of a knit hat with a ridiculous pompom and a container held tightly between two mittened hands. The pale winter light back lit Twyla, giving her an odd sort of glow as she peered around the office. 

“Hey,” Stevie greeted, sliding a bookmark carefully between the pages of her book and settling it down. “You have a reservation?”

“What?” Twyla’s eyes went wider than normal and she blinked, looking like a fucking Disney princess in her pastel pea coat. “Oh, no, I could see why you would think that. I mean, this is your place of business and I never come in here, so why would I come in unless I had a-“ Twyla’s mouth clicked shut, before she continued, “but I don’t. Wow, it hasn’t changed much.”

Twyla’s ramble ended with her staring around the room, wide-eyed as ever. 

“Slightly newer computer,” Stevie said, jerking her thumb at the monitor. 

Twyla’s smile was soft and dreamy as she headed across the office floor. “Your grandma always used to hand write all the receipts.”

“Yeah,” Stevie said on a sigh. Nana Budd and Aunt Maureen had been old fashioned as all get out and Stevie had been eighteen when she had finally convinced them to invest in a computer.

But that was neither here nor there. “So, what brings you in? Looking for competitive pricing on room rates or to steal free samples?”

“Oh, I just thought...It was really nice doing Cabaret with you, and I just thought...” Twyla paused again and looked to her shoes before glancing back up. “Here.”

A sturdy Tupperware container found its way to the check-in counter. It was wrapped with a sparkly ribbon and inside were neatly lined up cupcakes: chocolate with vanilla frosting. They were Stevie’s favorite. 

“Oh.”

“It’s your birthday. Right? I didn’t...”

Stevie shook her head to remove the cobwebs. “No. I mean, yeah it’s my birthday. You didn’t screw it up.”

Twyla’s smile bloomed over her face. Stevie watched as Twyla slid her mittens off to reveal her long fingers, one jabbing at the box. “They’re better than the ones I made when I was ten.”

The first time Twyla had ever made her cupcakes began to play in Stevie’s mind like a old home video. Twyla grinning at her, her front teeth too big for her mouth and her hair pulled back in a ponytail as she had offered out the tray. Stevie remembered nearly breaking off her teeth trying to bite one and the frosting had been butter. Twyla had cried.

Stevie usually avoided all things that had to do with her birthday. Being the center of attention had never been her strong suit. Too many had ended in tears, her mother’s or her own. David insisted on doing something but never anything major. She had threatened to murder him if he ever planned her something huge after he had roped her into planning Patrick’s surprise party.

“Those were rocks. Anything would be an improvement.”

“Yeah. I know...” Twyla trailed off again, looking down at her feet. “Things have been weird for awhile.”

“Awhile?” Stevie fully snorted. “Almost twenty years qualifies as more than awhile.”

Not that they hadn’t been at parties together; as two full-on Townies, they ended up in the same places. They knew the same people and had lived in the same small spaces. Drunk or high, conversations between them flowed like they had when they were little. Stevie had stopped avoiding the cafe three years after Twyla had first put on an apron and they’d figured that part out, too. Still, there was a barrier that kept them from being more than passing acquaintances. A wall built by two women who had always cared more for themselves than their own daughters. 

“I know. It just all seems stupid now and I wanted...I wanted to bring you your birthday cupcakes. I shouldn’t have stopped.”

Stevie tucked her knees up to her chest. “Twyla, our moms had a fight and forbid us from speaking. We were kids. I never blamed you.”

“Still, your mom’s been gone a long time. I shouldn’t have waited so long.”

Stevie tilted her head to the side, chin still tucked between her knees and wondered at that statement. Twyla’s mother was still here. Why wouldn’t that stop her? However, Twyla looked down at her hands and Stevie could see her twisting them together and taking them back apart. Her heart stuttered a little at the sight of Twyla looking entirely adrift. Twyla was occasionally spacy, but she was usually decisive. 

“We both could have done something, Twy.” The nickname slid out unbidden, a reflex of an earlier time. “No one to blame, or both to blame.”

Twyla shrugged and the smile she gave was small and brittle. Stevie didn’t like it. “Well, I hope you have a happy birthday. I just wanted to drop those off.”

Instinctually, Stevie’s hand shot out towards Twyla, even though consciously she knew it would never reach. Feeling stupid, she put her hand on top of the container. “Hey, stay. Have a cupcake with me.”

Stevie unspooled her legs and hopped to the floor. The ribbon was easily undone and the lid gave a loud _pop_ as Stevie opened it. She picked up a carefully frosted cupcake and peeled back the silvery wrapper. Stevie held out the bare cupcake to Twyla who had frozen at her words. 

A smile quirked back on Twyla’s face and she reached out and took the cupcake from Stevie. Their fingers brushed and and a familiar, old heat skittered up Stevie’s arm. Ducking her head to cover the pink heat rising up her cheeks, Stevie picked up a fresh cupcake and unwrapped it quickly. Twyla was still standing there, holding her cupcake, wearing a soft expression that Stevie couldn’t quite place. 

She lifted her cupcake higher and gave a nod, bringing the cupcake to her lips. Twyla bit down at the same time Stevie did. Chocolate-goodness wrapped in creamy frosting exploded in Stevie’s mouth, rich and wonderful. A bit of frosting stuck to her lip and to Twyla’s.

The giggle slipped from between her lips as Stevie went to lick off the frosting, bringing a hand up to cover her face. Twyla was staring back at her with a look that transported Stevie to a much younger time and twisted her stomach into a small knot. Something like hope flared inside her and Stevie felt like 31 might not be an awful year after all.


End file.
